Days 7 & 8

Days 7 & 8

Leaving the beach, driving to Georgia, South of the Border, THE GEORGIA AQUARIUM, OTTER DAY!!!!!!!!!!



 
 














On day 7, we got up early to pack and say our goodbyes to the family. We were on the road at 10 AM toward Georgia. After a while we stopped for some lunch at the most hilarious place in South Carolina called South of the Border. It is the most kitschy, slightly racist Mexican-random animal-international export themed "attraction" built in the 1950s. Complete with a few restaurants, an international imports store, a hat store, flea market, fireworks emporium, small carnival, several brightly colored animal statues, and the best part- a reptile lagoon. The gift shop we went into had everything from a stuffed animals to sombreros, to a magnet of 2 people having sex- magical. We indulged in lunch at a "Mexican" place, then ventured on over to the reptile lagoon. The reptile lagoon was surprisingly well kept, well stocked, and the habitats were all appropriate for their residents. We saw alligators, crocs, snakes, fish, turtles, and frogs (reptiles, if you will). There was also a crabby parrot who cackled loudly and said "byebye."

 
 









After thoroughly enjoying South of the Border, we forged on toward Georgia. We arrived in Atlanta at about 9:45 PM, and checked into our hotel. Well, we tried to anyway. At our first attempt to check in, we were given keys to a room that was clearly not cleaned (towels and linens everywhere). I was given the correct room keys, which led us to more hygienic and appropriately prepped quarters. We ate dinner at the restaurant attached to the hotel, risky I know. It was called Louisiana Bistreaux, and it turned out to be great.

Sleeping was a little difficult for me in our room because I kept waking up to the strong smell of fruity weed smoke. Super gross. When we woke up we got out of there asap!

On day 8, we got ready quickly in preparation for OTTER DAY! We had tickets to the Georgia aquarium and a special encounter with Sea Otters! We got there right when it opened. The café was open as well, so we went to get some food expecting expensive crap, but were pleasantly greeted with a freaking omelet bar! After filling our tummies with omelets and coffee, we ventured off into the aquarium. Now, let me just say that I worked at Shedd for a while, and it can't hold a candle to how efficient and well organized the Georgia Aquarium is. I was very impressed. We saw whale sharks, manta rays, sea horses, river otters, belugas, spider crabs, penguins, and SO MANY OTHER AWESOME ANIMALS.

I'm bad at taking selfies

BUT the BEST part was the behind the scenes encounter with Sea Otters. Sea Otters are my favorite animal. I have an otter tattoo for gosh sakes. It was the most exciting thing ever. The otters were so cute I almost cried. I got to touch an otter's nose, pet her paw, and feed her fish popsicles. BEST DAY OF MY LIFE. The otters were so cute, smart, and sassy. It was incredible. Before we left, I bought about 100 otter things from the gift shop, which I don't feel bad about.

My new best friend and I.

 

We left the aquarium and ate lunch at Krystal, White Castle of the South, at Deegan's request. It was exactly how you'd imagine it. With tiny hamburgers in our bellies, we drove toward Louisville, KY. We are now sitting in bed at the Super 8 gearing up for the trip home tomorrow. I'm very excited to pick up my baby dog and sleep in my own bed. Overall, this vacation has been awesome. A great time with my fiancé, my family, and some really cool animals. :)

Days 4-6

Days 4-6

Beachin!

The last few days have been filled with beach/pool/sunshine activities. The beach is awesome, but very very hot. I don't really do heat, so we haven't spent a whole lot of time there. We bought little umbrellas to attach to our chairs- best purchase ever. While hanging out at the beach, we built a sand castle, went out on the boogie board, enjoyed the waves, and watched some adorable dogs enjoying the ocean.

We've also taken a substantial number of naps. I love naps. Additionally, we've read books, gone shopping, hung out with family, and celebrated the Hawks Stanley Cup win. Today is our last day at the beach; we leave tomorrow morning for Atlanta, Georgia.

I'm glad I got to spend time with my family and Deegan these last few days. We don't usually get to just be. I've felt so much lighter since work has ended for the summer, and we get to go into our days without a plan for a little while. Very therapeutic.

A few nights ago Deegan and I went down to the beach late at night to look for crabs. We found 5 ghost crabs, and they were so cute! We also sat and looked at the beautiful stars. Deegan pointed out constellations, and we just enjoyed each other's company for a while. The next night we went and fed turtles by the shops- often my favorite part of the trip.

Today, I'm going to a "ladies lunch" with various family members, and I plan to enjoy the rest of my time at the beach relaxing and taking mental pictures. I would love to spend my whole summer here, but real life is catching up to us (NO!). I miss my baby dog, and I can't wait to see her! For now, we are enjoying the sun and each other. Tomorrow will be a lot of driving, but I can't wait to meet an otter! So far, this trip has been amazing. Everything I wanted it to be. :)

Day 3

Day 3

Kanawha Falls, New River Gorge Bridge, passing through Virginia, finishing in North Carolina!

We woke up on day 3 refreshed after a pleasant evening. We started driving as soon as we could and headed toward North Carolina. As we got going, we were immediately stopped at an exit by a small police blockade waiting for a band of bikers who were having a hard time sharing the road to pass. That was a good 15 minutes of waiting. When the bikers did pass, there were many of them and they all seemed quite cheery.

On the way, we stopped at a few lovely places. First, we stopped at Kanawha Falls in West Virginia. It was beautiful! There were many fishermen/women, and it made me wish I had a pole. We saw so many hawks looking for lunch. The mountains were amazing- very green.

 





Next, we stopped at New River Gorge Bridge and National Park to take a looksee. We wanted to do the bridge walk, where you get strapped to a cat walk and walk under the bridge, but it was too darn expensive. We settled for gorgeous scenic views. Deegan was complimented on his Pogues shirt by a very friendly park ranger guy, and I bought a wildlife coloring book. All in all, a good place to stop.

 

 







After the bridge, we ate lunch at Biscuit World. It's this chain restaurant that we kept seeing, so we finally gave in and ate there. There were indeed many biscuits. Quite Yummy.

 

 

 

After lunch, we drove and drove and drove- headed for North Carolina at last. We eventually got over the state line, and ate dinner at the slowest McDonald's on the planet. After a quick (well, quick by North Carolina standards) dinner, we drove another 1.5 hours and finally MADE IT TO EMERALD ISLE!!! We are all settled in with my family and ready for the first day at the beach tomorrow. I can't wait to spend the whole day in my bathing suit enjoying the ocean. :)

 



 

Day 2

Day 2

 

The United States Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio into West Virginia

 
So, we woke up in Dayton in our Smoke Free hotel room and got ready for our day. Once we were ready, we ate some breakfast at Waffle House (of course) and headed to the USAF Museum-  an awesome FREE museum all thanks to the US Government.

 

Picture this: 4 Hangars of various Air Force aircrafts from Wright's first flight to modern drones and stealth jets. It was Deegan's freaking paradise. He could probably give an official tour of the place without ever stepping inside. He was in awe.
He explained so much information to me about this plane and that plane and that balloon, OH and that helicopter! Needless to say, I got exhausted about 50% of the way through, but I soldiered on because Deegan was so damn excited. Sadly, the space exhibit was under construction. I think my favorite parts were the Early Years of flight portion and the full understanding of just how big all of these planes were/are. You really don't realize the actual size or intricacy of the aircrafts is so much more than what you see in the movies. Overall, the USAF Museum was exhausting, but pretty darn cool.

After the museum, we headed toward Charleston, WV. The drive was quiet and pretty. I colored in my grown up coloring book, took a nap, and enjoyed the lush mountain views. We stopped in a lovely town called Point Pleasant, WV, and it was just that. A pleasant view of Ohio River, beautiful mountains, and a pretty cool bridge.

 

We arrived in Charleston just before dinner time. This time, our hotel was very nice and smoke-free. There were about 100 college bros there, but it wasn't so bad. We ate dinner at a place called Tidewater Grill. Our waiter's name was Kip. Everything about this place was so awesome. No wait to be seated, amazing fresh warm bread, fast service, PERFECTLY cooked food from calamari to lobster and veggies. All of this was topped off by the best piece of tiramisu I've ever had. We also got to see the Hawks game a bit while eating, and celebrated the win when we got back to the hotel.
I slept like a baby in the giant king bed.
Day 2 was a good time. Walked a lot, derived a lot, ate a lot.... and got closer to the beach.

Day 1

Day 1

 

We're going on an adventure!

Here's the plan we have in mind for this trip-
Day 1- Drive from Lombard to Dayton, OH
Day 2- Visit National Air Force Museum, drive to Charleston, WV
Day 3- Drive over New River Gorge on our way to Emerald Isle, NC
Day4-8- Relax on the beach with family! Maybe visit a lighthouse
Day 8- leave for Atlanta, Georgia
Day 9- Go to the Georgia Aquarium and meet a Sea Otter! Drive to Louisville, KY
Day 10- Head Home

I packed 3 books, 2 grown up coloring books, plenty of snacks, and an adjustable neck pillow. Oh, and clothes and stuff. I dropped of Maggie (corgi pup) at Michael's mom's house for the week (I'm starting to feel mommy guilt for leaving her). After that we got all of our crap together and headed off.

With lunch from Juicy-O in our bellies, Michael and I officially got on the road today at 3:00 pm from Lombard with me in the driver's seat. Here's the interesting thing about that- I can really only drive about 3 hours before I get groggy, BUT for this trip, I was able to make the entire drive to Ohio. We made 2 stops- Coffee and dinner. Annoyingly, it spittle-rained the ENTIRE time.
When we stopped for a hearty meal at Wendy's, we met a friendly cat in the parking lot. Her name is Wendyscat, she's very chatty. Michael told me not to touch her, but I did anyway. It was worth it.

The last leg of today's drive brought us to our cheap hotel in Dayton. We get there, haul our crap inside, go to check in.......... and apparently I accidentally booked a smoking room. GROSS. So, since there weren't any rooms available, I wanted to cancel. WELL, apparently it was too late to cancel, so my only option was to wait for someone to walk in and request a room so they could have it and I could get my money back. Luckily, a shady couple with no bags was in desperate search of a hotel room to "sleep," so we got the hell out of dodge. Now, we are settled in for bed at Knight's Inn... a lovely place with the biggest bed I've ever seen. I'm not even sure Michael and I are in the same room.

Anyway, I'm very excited about the rest of our trip. This is well deserved, and much anticipated by all involved. Sweet dreams. Safe travels.

*sidenote: The HTC M8 has amazing navigation. Just incase you wanted to know. ...zzzz....

"Meow." - Wendyscat